Politics

Obama to Leno: 'We Don't Have Domestic Spy Program'

by Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

(NEWSER) – President Obama covered a lot of bases—most of them serious—in his fourth Tonight Showappearance as president. Some highlights from the Jay Leno interview, which Politico sees as part of the president's push to "get back to being Barack Obama again" and stop being the butt of late-night jokes:

On the global travel warning for US citizens: "The general rule is show some common sense and some caution," Obama said, praising the reactions of Americans who went about life as usual after the Boston Marathon bombing. "Terrorists depend on the idea that we're going to be terrorized," he said.

On Trayvon Martin: "All of us were troubled by what happened, and any of us who are parents can imagine the heartache that those parents went through," Obama said after Leno praised his "eloquent" remarks after George Zimmerman's acquittal. "It doesn't mean that Trayvon was a perfect kid, none of us were," Obama said, adding that the issue of having a fair justice system for everybody is a "particularly sensitive topic for the African-American community."